FULLNESS OF JOY Psalms 16:1-11 Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust. O my soul, you have said to the Lord, "You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You." As for the saints who are on the earth, "They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight." Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my lips. O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. 1
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. INTRODUCTION: This is one of the Messianic Psalms. It was written by David during his exile period. Driven from his material inheritance, he claims God Himself as the true portion. As David ponders his fate, he looks above (1-2), around (3-4), within (5-6), and beyond (9-11). This psalm, as does many others, begins with prayer, implies trouble, abounds in holy confidence, and closes with assurance. Psalm 16, along with Psalms 56-60, is referred to as a Michtam psalm. All were written during the time of David s rejection. These psalms are described in various ways; some think it comes from a word meaning to engrave, or sculptural writing. The thought would be that here something is preserved that should never be forgotten. W.W. Wiersbe says that Psalm 16:11 is his favorite verse (life verse). Each of the Psalms 16:56-60, preserve the thought of resurrection. Some think it refers to a psalm of hidden, mysterious meaning or a golden psalm. Michtam suggests that the psalm was one of David s golden meditations, dealing with truth so significant it 2
should be preserved forever, although originally a personal, private meditation. Let s view this psalm as to what it meant to David. I. PRAYER FOR THE LORD S PROTECTION. 1-4 A. EXPRESSION OF TRUST. 1 for in You I put my trust that is no new or sudden action. It has been going on for some time and has now become a habit. There is such a thing as crying to God in a moment of trouble or danger, and then neglecting and forgetting Him when things are going all right. This was a Complete Trust This was a Consistent Trust This was a Constant Trust Preserve me (keep me safe) doesn t suggest that David was in trouble or danger. It simply means that he needed God s constant care and oversight so that he might honor God. 3
David uses 3 words for God in v.1-2 1. Elohim God the Creator; omnipotent, the allpowerful One; stands for God in all His strength and might 2. Jehovah God of Covenant; He is the God Who desires to enter a saving contract with humanity. 3. Adonai My Sovereign Lord; my King God is my Maker, my Mediator, and my Master B. PROFESSION OF TRUST. 2 You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You. KJV says, my goodness extendeth not to thee The Hebrew scholars translate it, Thou art my Lord, You do not need my goodness There is a certain pride in man that will give and give, but to come and accept is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom, I will give myself in consecration, I will do anything, but do not 4
humiliate me to the level of the most helldeserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God; we must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest blessing spiritually is the knowledge that we are destitute; until we get there our Lord is powerless. Oswald Chambers (My well-being is entirely dependent upon You). I have no good beyond God. The Lord is our highest goal and greatest treasure. Psalms 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. Psalms 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift 5
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. To know Him through Jesus Christ is the highest privilege in life. Jesus is indeed the One who saves and the One who satisfies. C. COMPANIONS OF TRUST. 3-4 Psalms 119:63 I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts. 1. THERE IS COMMITMENT TO THE CHURCH. (BODY) 3 Speaks of affection for others in the body John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." 6
This serves as one of the first marks of a born-again believer a. Modeled After His Love. v.34 as I have loved you John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. b. Manifested by His Love. Galatians 5:22 Love is fruit produced by the Spirit of God in us. Agape; love of choice 1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. God calls Christians to that same standard of love for one another as He had for us. David was not only living in the Lord s presence in v.1-2, but now he was living for the Lord s people. They were his delight. 7
He refers to them as the excellent ones (majestic ones); carries the meaning of nobility and glory. In spite of our faults and failures, believers are God s elite, His nobility on earth. We must all love one another and use our God-given abilities and resources to minister to the family of God. We don t live the Christian life alone, because we re part of a great spiritual family and need each other. 1 John 4:18-21 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. 8
A claim to love God is a delusion if not accompanied by unselfish love for other Christians. 2. THERE IS NO COMPROMISE. 4 David desired to keep himself away from evil aspirations and associations. In David s day it was the worship of Dagon of the Philistines. Today, it s the idolatry of money, success and fame. Prayer for the Lord s protection. II. PRAISE FOR THE LORD S PROVIDENCE. 5-6 A. SPEAKS OF THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD. 5 After Israel conquered the Promised Land, each tribe, except Levi, was assigned a special inheritance (Joshua 13-21). The priests and the Levites, because they served in the sanctuary and ate of the holy sacrifices, had the Lord as their special inheritance. David saw himself in that privileged position. To possess great wealth but not have the Lord is poverty indeed. 9
Luke 12:15 And He said to them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. " When David penned these verses, he was excluded from his inheritance by Saul. David s share was in the fields of Bethlehem. He writes as a fugitive on the run. I have lived a long time, Benjamin Franklin, age eighty-one, told the Constitutional Convention, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? Nations rise and fall; leaders come and go. But there is only one King of kings and Lord of lords, and He who ordains the flow of history and guides the sparrow s flight also carefully attends to the needs of His children. A.W. Tozer wrote, To the child of God, there is no such thing as accident. He travels an appointed way Accidents may indeed appear to befall him and misfortune stalk his way; but these evils will be so in appearance only and will seem evil only 10
because we cannot read the secret script of God s hidden providence. God is eternal, so His perspective is broad. He is immortal, having no fear of death. He is invisible and always present. He is allwise, always knowing just what to do. Trust Him and give him honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. David Jeremiah Job 14:5 days are determined You have appointed His limits B. SPEAKS OF OUR FUTURE WITH GOD. 6 Years before, David had been anointed by the prophet Samuel to one day be the king of Israel. David knew that there was nothing Saul could do to prevent that. It was around 20 years before he would know this reality. We also have a good inheritance. lines Old Testament metaphor to describe God s blessings. W.W. Wiersbe said, If Jesus is Lord of our lives, then the possessions we have and the circumstances we are in represent the inheritance He gives us. Not a Oprah Winfrey 11
TESTIMONY I was away on Thanksgiving, but I am grateful for the day 31 years ago when His lines fell on the boundaries of Woodstock, Georgia. I can honestly say, The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance. Praise for the Lord s proctection III. THE PROSPECTS OF THE LORD S PROVISION AND PLEASURES. 7-11 A. THIS PRESENT LIFE. 7-9 1. COUNSEL. 7 Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. My heart also instructs me in the night seasons -suggests dark nights or night after night hearing from God. The word instruct carries with it the idea of discipline and chastening. 12
Psalms 17:3 You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Psalms 42:8 The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me A prayer to the God of my life. Psalms 63:6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Psalms 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. Psalms 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search. 13
2. CONFIDENCE. 8 right hand suggests God as his advocate/defender. The Lord girded and guarded him. 3. COMFORT. 9 Whom God guides and guards, He gladdens. When David said, My flesh also will rest in hope, he was referring to Messiah and not to himself. David s hope rested in the Coming Messiah. B. THE PROSPECTIVE LIFE. 10-11 v.10 Peter and Paul used this passage in their preaching in the New Testament. Peter proved that Jesus had been raised from the dead Acts 2:22-32 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of 14
death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.' Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. David could face death with a glad heart and soul, and could rest in the grave in hope, knowing that one day, he, too, would have a new, glorified body. 15
When David wrote, the full revelation about death and resurrection had not yet been revealed. 2 Timothy 1:10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel Paul used this text to prove the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts 13:26-39 "Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. And we declare to you glad 16
tidings that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.' And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: 'I will give you the sure mercies of David.' Therefore He also says in another Psalm: 'You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.' For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. 17
v.11 Warren Wiersbe s life verse. Here s the secret: - Live on God s path - Live in His presence - Live for His pleasures The key to delighting in the things of God is to delight in God Himself. 18